


moonlight silhouettes

by ohallows



Series: cloud country [9]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, Modern Era, Stardew Valley AU, Time Skips, Tropes, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2020-10-18 02:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20631275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohallows/pseuds/ohallows
Summary: Dunnock Town, like any other small seaside towns,  has a number of festivals, and it’s Hamid’s first time attending any of them.[spring / summer / fall / winter]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> first part of the festivals retrospective!! it was going to be a Big one but then i realized it was 6k and i only had the first four written and went ‘hmm. alright.’
> 
> so here are the first four!! enjoy :) comments and kudos’ are very appreciated!

_ 4 April _

Hamid has only been in town for a few months when Mayor Gussett stops by his house, with a letter in hand. It’s a brisk morning out, a bit of chill still left in the air from winter as it clings on. The trees are only just beginning to bud, and the few bits of snow left on the ground are slowly melting away. 

“Hamid, my boy!” he calls, waving at Hamid as he sits out on his porch. Hamid waves back, smiling.

“Morning, Mayor Gussett! Would you like some lemonade, sir?” Hamid asks, holding out a cup. Mayor Gussett takes it but doesn’t drink, waggling a finger at him. 

“Now, there’ll be none of that! It’s just Mayor Gussett, alright?”

“Er, of course,” Hamid says. Mayor Gussett nods approvingly and takes a swig of the lemonade. 

“Delicious, simply scrummy, well done, lad!” he exclaims, clapping his hands together. “Now, on to business?”

“Of course, go ahead,” Hamid says, gesturing for Mayor Gussett to speak. 

“Now, you haven’t been in town long, so you probably don’t know. The annual Egg Festival is tomorrow, down in the main square. Consider this your official invitation! And I won’t take no for an answer. Absolutely not.”

Hamid blinks at him. “Egg… festival?”

Mayor Gussett nods emphatically. “Just that, just that. The entire town will be there. We’ll throw a big feast for everyone, there will be different vendors around, and we’ll close up the festivities with a town-wide egg hunt. Winner gets a _ special prize,” _he says, giving Hamid a wink. He finishes the glass of lemonade and sets it down on the table, smacking his lips. “Well, I’m off! Busy life, this, make sure to say no if anyone ever coerces you into government service, lad.” 

“Er, alright? See you tomorrow, then?” Hamid calls after him as Mayor Gussett walks down the porch stairs and along the path, hand raised in a weak half-wave. Mayor Gussett beams as he half-turns around to wave back. 

Well. He supposes he has plans for tomorrow, then. 

—

The center of town is all dressed up for the festival, with inflatable bunnies and colored eggs donning the streets. 

Azu and Grizzop have decorated the front of their clinic with pink and yellow bunting, and the other storefronts have followed suit, alternating between different pastels to make the entire street incredibly colorful.

Hamid loves it. It reminds him of going to festivals back in Cairo, with his sisters, but there’s not as many smells of spices floating through the air, tempting him to each and every tent. And it’s still a bit cold for his tastes, but he doesn’t mind. Aziza had sent him a coat after he’d gotten settled, a beautiful black peacoat with silver trim. It’s perfect for the weather, and for wandering around the square.

“Alright, Hamid?” Sasha says from behind him, and Hamid jumps, swearing. A few parents tugging their children along give him dirty looks, and continue marching. He gives a weak, apologetic smile to their backs and turns around to see Sasha watching him with a hint of a smirk on her face.

“Sasha, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” Hamid says, clutching at his chest. “I wasn’t expecting you to be there!”

Sasha laughs under her breath and tilts her head, motioning for Hamid to follow her down the street. He does, easily, turning to look at all the different displays as they go. 

“Participating in the egg hunt?” Sasha asks, nudging him with her elbow. Hamid shakes his head.

“Not really my style, no,” he says, and Sasha nods. “The kids can have fun with this one.”

They continue walking; the decorations get no less sparse as they make their way through the square, but go from pink and yellow to purple and blue to green and yellow and orange and red. Hamid loves it.

“Did you ever do the egg hunt, Sasha?” Hamid asks after they’ve been walking for a moment, slipping his hands into his pockets. 

“When I was a kid, yeah. Won a couple, too,” she says, and there’s a hint of pride in her voice when she talks about it. “Good at climbing. Can get up where others can’t.”

“How many did Brock win?” Hamid asks, smiling, and Sasha laughs. 

“Less than me, mate. Less than me. Here,” she says, bumping her shoulder into Hamid’s to turn down a side road with food vendors, “you’ve got to try this quiche, it’s amazing.”

The quiche _ is _delicious, and Grizzop comes up for a moment to talk with them both, and then he’s off, onto the next thing with as much efficacy as he always has. Before long, it’s actually time for the egg hunt, and Sasha ducks out as Hamid finds a seat next to Azu at one of the long dining tables set up on the side. Mayor Gussett, Sasha, and Brock are all standing up near a podium, while an entire mess of little kids line up on the starting line, armed with baskets for the eggs they find. Once everyone is settled, Mayor Gussett claps his hands into the microphone to get everyone’s attention.

“Is everyone ready?” he says, and smiles as a cheer rises up from the crowd. The kids all start clapping themselves, and then quiet down once more when he raises a hand. 

“On your mark,” Mayor Gussett calls, glint in his eye. 

“Get set,” Sasha follows, arms crossed over her chest as she surveys the line of kids standing in front of them. 

“Go!” Brock yells, pumping his arm up into the air as he _ lays _ on the airhorn, and everyone starts to run, yelling and screaming in excitement.

Hamid laughs, and leans a bit closer to Azu, who settles in happily enough next to him. “They love this, don't they?”

“They do,” Azu hums, content. “It’s always good to see all of them happy.”

It is. Sasha in particular is smiling wider than Hamid has ever seen her smile, not counting the times she’s with Azu, and he’s glad to see her this excited about the egg hunt.

“Hey, Azu? Do you mind if I ask when you and Sasha got together?” Hamid asks, turning and crossing his legs as he looks up at Azu. She doesn’t take her eyes off Sasha, standing up at the podium with the rest of her family. 

“Two years and six months ago, actually,” Azu says, and leans forward as she rests her elbows on her knees. “It was a few days after the town fair. We’d gone together since Grizzop was out of town visiting some old friends, and I was still a little new here. Didn’t know many people, you know?”

Hamid nods; he can relate.

“We had a wonderful time, and the entire time we were there I couldn’t stop thinking about asking her out. She grabbed my hand to pull me along and I couldn’t stop blushing. So I asked her out two days later, and she said yes, and we’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s so sweet,” Hamid murmurs, smiling over at Sasha as well. She finally turns and catches them watching her, and quirks her eyebrow up at the both of them before shrugging and turning back to Mayor Gussett. Azu and Hamid break down into peals of laughter, Hamid ducking behind her back in case Sasha looks over again. The laughter fades, eventually, and Hamid sits back, watching people walk by as the kids participating in the egg hunt move farther away from them.

“Azu?” Hamid asks, eventually. “Do you ever regret moving here? You know. Small towns, and all that.”

Azu considers it for a moment, and then shakes her head. “I did at first, but I’m from a small village. Moving here wasn’t that much of a change.” She smiles, softly. “If I hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet everyone here.” Her eyes move back to Sasha, and Hamid can recognize love when he sees it. 

“You’ll see for yourself, Hamid, but Dunnock is… well, magical.”

Hamid nods, and looks over to where Sasha is, where Zolf and someone who _ has _ to be his brother are talking, where Grizzop and Veeseek are eating, and smiles. “Yeah. You’re right.”

—

_ 27 May _

The spring passes quickly; the leaves on the trees are starting to turn green again, and Hamid and Zolf had planted some flowers outside the shop to help give it a nicer look as the weather has gotten warmer. 

This time, it’s Sasha who comes over, knocking quietly on Hamid’s door while he’s eating breakfast.

“Dad wanted me to pass these out. Annual Flower Dance is tomorrow. You should come.” Hamid reaches out and takes the flyer from Sasha, scanning it quickly. 

“Can I get a notice more than a day in advance?” Hamid asks, raising an eyebrow over at Sasha. She shrugs and takes a step backward toward the door.

“Just the way things work around here, mate,” she says. And, well, fine, whatever, it’s not like he has plans that are going to be messed up, especially not if nearly the entire town is in attendance. He’ll just have to rummage through the closet and hope he can find _ something _ to wear. “You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

“Well, thank you for telling me, I suppose. Would you like to stay for breakfast?” he asks, and Sasha perks up. “I’m making chocolate chip pancakes.”

“Love to, mate,” Sasha says, and Hamid pours her a glass of water while she sits down in the chair. They’re both quiet as the pancakes cook; it’s a comfortable silence that Hamid will sometimes fill with a few stories, and Sasha nods along, comfortable. The pancakes are delicious, just the perfect amount of chocolate, and Sasha seems to enjoy them as well. 

The clock on the wall rings out, and Hamid realizes that it’s gone nine in the morning. Sasha glances at her own watch, as well, and swears under her breath. 

“Gotta get back to open the shop,” she says, by way of explanation, and brings her plate over to the sink, sticking it in the dishwasher. “Cheers for the food.”

“Anytime, Sasha,” he says, and walks her over to the door.

“See you tomorrow, Hamid,” Sasha calls as she leaves, off to open the antique shop, and Hamid unlocks the door to his own shop. 

Right. Back to work. And tomorrow, whatever this Flower Dance is.

—

The directions Hamid has to where the flower dance is being held are rather straightforward, but Hamid’s still a tad worried he’s going to get lost. Apparently, there’s a small unused field near the woods that are just south of Hamid’s house, on the other side of the gorge. Thankfully, there’s a path worn into the ground that he’s following, and eventually he sees the bright pink bridge in the distance. He’s running late, he knows, but it’s fine. The sun is getting higher in the sky, and the dance is scheduled to kick off at noon. 

He checks his watch. An hour or so to go, then, so he picks up the pace a bit. He makes it to the bridge in good time and steps across, and it’s like the entire world has transformed. 

The trees are covered in colorful bunting, pinks and blues and greens streaming from the trees, peppered with white flowers. The center of the field has been cordoned off into a square, lined with the same white flowers and a number of roses. 

There are a few food and goods vendors set up along the pathway, but Hamid breezes past them as they hawk their wares. He spies Sasha and Zolf chatting out of the corner of his eye and makes a beeline over to them, waving once they notice him coming.

“All right, Hamid?” Zolf asks, and Sasha gives him a grin. 

“Morning!” Hamid says, brightly. “This looks amazing.”

“Supposed to signify rebirth, yeah? Happy Spring, and all that,” Sasha says, and pulls one of the flowers off of the trees to hand to him. He takes it, grateful. It’s a white rose, and it smells _ amazing_.

“Thank you,” Hamid says, and tucks the stem of the rose into the pocket of his shirt. “Is this straight?”

Zolf snorts. “Not even a little.” He reaches over and adjusts the rose, face scrunching up in concentration as he moves it around. “There. All set.”

“Thank you, Zolf,” Hamid says. “So-“

“Right,” Grizzop cuts him off, coming over and leaning both of his elbows on Hamid’s shoulders as he peers over his head. “Sasha, they’re starting to line up. Best grab Azu.” 

Sasha nods, and with a quick, “Thanks, Grizzop,” ducks off into the crowd, melting into it seamlessly as she disappears. 

“Morning, Grizzop,” Hamid says, looking up at him with a smile. Grizzop pats him on the head.

“Wotcher.” He steps back and sits down next to the two of them. “So, Hamid, fancy finding someone to dance with?”

“Is this you asking?” Hamid says with a wink, and Grizzop lets out a short bark of laughter. 

“Not in the slightest. The whole _ romance _ thing isn’t really my bag,” Grizzop leans back in the chair with his hands clasped behind his head, and stare over at the couples starting to line up on the dance floor. 

Zolf kicks up a conversation with him about getting more medical supplies for Feryn’s store and Hamid zones out a bit, watching people walk by as the conversation becomes a comforting hum in the background. He grabs a glass of champagne off of the tray of one of the servers walking by and drinks; it’s delicious, perfectly light and bubbly.

He’s not sure how much time passes while Zolf and Grizzop chat, but he’s two champagne glasses in when Grizzop stands and claps Hamid on the shoulder.

“Right, I’m off,” Grizzop says. “Someone always hurts their ankle and I always need to fix ‘em up.” He salutes to them both and slips off the chair, weaving his way through the crowd.

The music starts, and Hamid is entranced by the couples spinning around the dance floor. Zolf leans in and asks him a question which he doesn’t completely hear, but Hamid nods anyway, and turns back to the dancers. They move so seamlessly together, back and forth across the dance floor, and Hamid finds his head bobbing along to the music.

Hamid knocks back the rest of his (third? fourth?) glass of champagne and sets it down on the table gently. Zolf has disappeared somewhere, and Hamid _ knows _Zolf told him where he was going, but he can’t remember for the life of him, so instead he lets his eyes roam through the crowd of dancers, finally finding his friends.

Sasha has a rare soft grin on her face as she dances with Azu, their foreheads pressed together. Hamid watches them, for a while, resting his chin on his hands and smiling.

His friends are happy. _ He’s _ happy. 

Zolf appears in his field of vision holding another glass of champagne and Hamid makes grabby hands at him until Zolf hands it over. Now he’s _ really _ happy.

“Thank you,” he says, taking a long sip. It’s more like a gulp, really, but thinking about it like that would be _ undignified_, and Hamid is never undignified.

Hamid may, however, be drunk. The entire field is spinning just enough to not be uncomfortable, and his face is slightly warm. If he closes his eyes it just gets worse, so he keeps them open and fixed on anything that doesn’t make him feel like he’s going to throw up everywhere. Because, obviously, that would be _ uncivilized. _

“Why aren’t you dancing?” Hamid asks, tilting his head as he looks over at Zolf. He takes another sip of his champagne while Zolf hums. It’s delicious, honestly, and the buzz that is steadily drumming through Hamid’s head, putting a slightly fuzzy filter on things, is more than welcome. 

“Well, not really one for dancing, me,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “Plus, this is… more for couples, or very good friends.” 

Hamid gasps, and one of his hands slams down on the table. “Zolf! We’re good friends!” 

Zolf laughs, and waves his hands for Hamid to calm down. “Hamid, Hamid, it’s fine, it’s - yes, we are, but -“

“Why don’t you want to dance with me?” Hamid whinges, clumsy tongue stumbling over the words.

“Hamid, you’re drunk,” Zolf says, giving him a soft smile. “Don’t think you could dance your way out of a paper bag at this point.”

Hamid glares at him balefully, but there’s no heat behind it, and he’s not sober enough to keep the glare up so it dissolved into a smile. “I’ll have you know, sir, that I am a fantastic dancer!” 

“Mhm,” Zolf says, nodding.

“I _ am,” _ Hamid says doggedly. “Me and my sister Aziza, you don’t know her, but she’ll come visit soon, I’ll make her tell you how good I am at dancing, we both _ learned_, when we were kids, and -“

“Okay, Hamid, okay,” Zolf says, cutting him off, but he’s sill smiling. “I’ll make you a promise, alright? Next year, if you don’t have anyone to dance with and aren’t going to trip over your own feet, I’ll dance with you. Yeah?”

Hamid nods happily, and if he leans over to give Zolf a hug and ends up staying there with his head resting against Zolf’s shoulder, no one has to know that it makes his heart beat that much quicker.

—

_ 1 July _

Every other weekend, Hamid and Azu head down to the beach together and lay out on the sand. It’s become something of a tradition, or as much as something can be a tradition when it’s only happened about four or five times. It’s just her and Hamid, now, basking in the sun. Sasha will be stopping by later, closing the shop early. Zolf is out of town for the weekend with Feryn, something about visiting family, and Veeseek is helping Grizzop run the clinic in Azu’s absence. 

It’s a gorgeous day out, as well. Only a few clouds in the sky, and a gentle cool breeze off of the ocean that brushes along Hamid’s skin. Perfect summer weather. 

“Are you coming to the luau tomorrow?” Azu asks, rolling over onto her stomach as she peeks over her arms at Hamid. 

Hamid turns onto his side, propping his head up. “Luau? What?”

“The luau tomorrow? Didn’t you - _ oh_. I forgot this is your first year here,” Azu says. “Tomorrow, the entire town will come down to the beach for a huge cookout. There will be music and food and the _ soup_, which is the best part of it. Oh, and the governor comes out as well. Has to check in on the town, see how it’s doing, all that.”

“That sounds fun,” Hamid says. “What’s so amazing about the soup? Is there a competition for best one, or…?”

“No, there’s just one soup.”

“Who makes it? They must be an incredible cook,” Hamid says, and lets his head fall as he lays down on his back, eyes slipping shut as he flips his sunglasses down over his head. 

“We all do,” Azu says, and he hears her shift next to him. Hamid opens his eyes and blinks, sure he misheard. 

“Sorry, what?” he asks, and flips his sunglasses up to look, confusedly, over at Azu. “You _ all _ do?”

“Everyone from the town contributes something to the soup,” Azu explains. “The governor stops by, tastes it, and then we all share if it’s good.”

“Have there ever been… _ bad _ years?” Hamid asks, a little apprehensive. He can’t imagine any sort of - eugh - communal stew ever tasting good, unless the entire town had communicated beforehand to make sure everyone brought something complementary. 

Azu shrugs. “A few, according to Sasha. But it hasn’t happened recently.”

Hamid settles back down, still a little weirded out by the entire concept. Azu seems to have faith in it, so Hamid is willing to give it a go. He wonders a bit where the tradition started… seems rather odd, the governor coming to rate an entire town based on how well all the residents do on cooking a specific food. 

Still, a summer party on the beach - Hamid’s excited, even if the story behind it is a little strange. He’ll have to put an outfit together; can’t look anything less than his best, especially if the governor will be making an appearance. 

And maybe he… just won’t taste the soup. 

—

The entire beach - or at least a decent expanse of it - is covered in palm fronds, making a nice if slightly unstable floor. There’s a giant cooking pot sitting in the middle of everything, and a few townies that Hamid knows by face if not by name are perched over it, stirring slightly. Everything looks like the epitome of a summer barbeque; there are tiki torches lining the pathway and burning away, even though it’s the middle of the day. There are people passing out flowers to all the attendees, so Hamid tucks the small hibiscus behind his ear and heads on, glancing around to see if he can spot Azu above the crowd, or Zolf or Sasha, if he’s lucky. 

And he is; he spots the back of Sasha’s head and ducks through the crowd, heading toward where she’s standing. Zolf and Azu are with her, unsurprisingly, and Hamid is tempted to sneak up behind them and scare them, but Sasha spots him before he can. 

“All right, Hamid?” she calls with a wave, and Zolf and Azu turn as well, both smiling when they see him walking up. 

“Hamid,” Zolf greets, clapping him on the shoulder. 

“Hello, Hamid,” Azu follows, leaning in to give him a hug; he reciprocates, squeezing a bit, and then lets go, rocking back on his heels.

“I’m glad I found you. I’m afraid I don’t recognize many people here,” he confesses, glancing around once more. He can’t spot Grizzop or Veeseek, and he’s pretty sure that he sees a few regulars from the shop wave to him, but no names are coming to mind. 

“You’ll start to learn everyone soon, I reckon,” Sasha says. “I’ve been here since I were a kid, and there’s still some people I don’t know. Don’t worry about it, Hamid.”

“Sasha’s right,” Azu says. “Plus, you’re always welcome to spend time with us, Hamid.”

“Thanks, Azu,” he says, grinning up at her. “So, what’s with this whole soup deal? Azu explained to me, but I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.”

Zolf motions for Sasha to go ahead, holding out a hand, and she shrugs. “Sure. It’s been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Something about sharing the whole bounty of the town, or some rot. Makes a decent soup, though.”

“Okay, but what about when it doesn’t? Do you all just… toss it into the ocean, or something?”

This time Zolf speaks up. “Usually we’ll just divy it up around the farmers and feed it to the cattle. That way it doesn’t go to waste.”

“Couldn’t they just, I don’t know, plan out a nice soup? Why does everyone have to contribute? And, actually on that note, it’s _ summer_, why are we making a soup, it’s already hot outside,” Hamid points out, gesturing toward the large fire under the pot. “Wouldn’t this be better suited for the fall or the winter? Not early July?”

Zolf and Sasha shrug in tandem, looking at him a bit nonplussed.

“Just the way it’s always been done,” Zolf says, and Sasha makes a noise of assent. Hamid frowns but doesn’t push the issue, because he’s not _ so uncouth _ as to continue criticizing a tradition that, for all he knows, has some sort of cultural or historical significance, even though he greatly doubts it. 

“Might want to go drop your share in, mate,” Sasha says, shading her eyes as she glances up at the sky. “It’s almost time for the tasting.”

Hamid nods and heads over to the soup pot, stepping up on a stool so that he can reach over the edge. The soup _ surprisingly _ smells pretty good, with a lovely rich aroma that Hamid absolutely had not been expecting. He drops in some honey - he only feels _ slightly _ guilty using something Zolf had brought him, considering that he doesn’t want to be the one who ruins the entire dish, and steps backward, heading back toward his friends.

It doesn’t take long before there’s a bell being rung, and Mayor Gussett is announcing the governor. He’s a short, portly man with a monocle and a stark-black suitcoat, and as he gazes out over the crowd, his eye has a slight twitch to it. Hamid frowns.

“I still think this is very weird,” Hamid whispers to Zolf, who stifles his laughter as the governor steps up to the giant pot in the center of town. He keeps his face carefully blank as he spoons some into a small bowl, and blows on it as the steam filters across the top.

Hamid can nearly feel the entire town holding its breath as the governor eyes the spoonful of soup in his hand critically. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife as he finally tries the soup, and Hamid finds himself caught up in the tension as they all wait for the verdict.

“This is…” he says, turning to face the crowd, still completely stonewalling, and then a beat passes and his face breaks out into a wide smile. “Delicious.”

A cheer rises up from the crowd at the announcement, and a few of the people who had been stirring earlier scramble to their feet and start frantically grabbing bowls from the nearest table, while everyone makes a loose line leading up to the pot in the center. Hamid finds himself in between Zolf and Sasha, with Azu bringing up the rear. He’s sure Grizzop and Veeseek are around here somewhere, probably shoveling food into their mouths before they take off somewhere else. 

A bowl is pushed into Hamid’s hands by Sasha, accompanied with a wink, and he decides to just go with it. It’s still really weird, to Hamid, still strange, but… well, the soup _ is _ delicious, and with how large the pot is, he doesn’t think anyone is going to fault him for going up for seconds and maybe even thirds.

—

_ 28 August _

There’s a flyer slid under Hamid’s door when he wakes up and steps into the kitchen. He picks it up off of the floor; it’s a deep blue color, with waves and jellyfish all over the back. 

_ Dance of the Moonlight Jellies! _ the flyer proclaims. _ Tomorrow evening only! _

Hamid sets the flyer down on the table and grabs a bowl of cereal. Another dance, then. And another last-minute reminder. Sasha wasn’t right, or at least she wasn’t right yet: he completely wasn’t used to it. He needed a few _ days _ to plan for these things. Time to pick an outfit, to schedule the arrival with his friends, and a whole host of other things. He sighs. He’ll just have to figure out what to wear tonight, then. Maybe he can call Azu over and ask for her opinion. 

He shoots off a text to Zolf, asking if he’s coming over today, and gets a response saying that he’s at Feryn’s shop and to come over. Hamid finishes the last of his breakfast and obliges, setting off at a smart pace down the path. Some of the townies wave at Hamid out of their windows as they drive by, and Hamid waves back with a smile. It’s a short enough walk, although it would be _ faster _ with a car and, really, Hamid ought to be figuring that part out by now, but he’s fine to share rides with Zolf when the man is free. He makes it to Feryn’s shop in good time, and straightens his coat out before heading in.

“Hello?” Hamid calls, pushing the front door open. Zolf’s sitting on a stool in the corner, tongue just poking out from between his lips as he focuses on sharpening a wicked-looking silver sword. He glances up as the bell above the door rings and gives Hamid a smile, before bending his head back over the sword.

“All right, Hamid?” Feryn calls from behind the counter. He’s leaning forward, arranging some of the papers, and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showcasing the numerous tattoos on his forearms. 

“Recovering from the adventuring incident?” Feryn asks, winking, and Hamid winces. He’s really tried not to think about it at all for the past week, especially not whatever that weird… heat and fire was, at the end there, and is steadfastly ignoring the fact that he might _ maybe _ have some sort of magic powers. Never mind that nothing else has happened since, at _ all, _ and Hamid’s been doing a fantastic job pretending it never happened. So he continues doing so. 

“Yes, thank you. Suppose we should have stayed in the upper levels,” he says, laughing. “Morning, Zolf.”

Zolf waves at him, methodically working on cleaning the sword in front of him, inspecting it before he puts it off to the side and picks another one up. 

“Now, come on, Zolf, use your words,” Feryn teases, resting his head on his hands as he smiles over at Zolf. Zolf picks his head up for a moment and gives Feryn a baleful look.

“Hey, Hamid,” he says, and it’s sickeningly sweet. “That good enough?”

Feryn nods happily, and Hamid covers his stifled laughter with a cough. Zolf rolls his eyes, and Feryn glances over at Hamid, giving him a wink. 

“So what brings you in today?” Feryn asks.

“I got this flyer from the mayor, something about a… dance tomorrow? I didn’t realize the town did more than one, to be honest,” Hamid says, hopping up onto one of the stools near the counter, resting his hands in his lap. 

“Oh, it’s not a real dance. At least not a human dance,” Feryn says, which is less than helpful, so Hamid just quirks an eyebrow at him. 

“Sorry?” he says, glancing between Feryn and Zolf. “Not a _ human _ dance?”

“There are these bioluminescent jellyfish that migrate close to us for the fall,” Feryn explains. “Every year, there’s one night when they’re close enough for us to see. Gorgeous sight, bunch’a little jellies just glowing in the water.”

“It’s pretty,” Zolf says, shrugging, and Feryn makes a noise of assent.

“Been going since we were kids. Had to keep Zolf from jumping in the ocean with them. _ Not _ a fun job.”

Zolf makes a distractedly offended noise, still working on sharpening the sword, but doesn’t offer any argument to the contrary. Hamid laughs. He can imagine little baby Zolf, tufts of curly hair blowing around, leaning excitedly over the edge of the dock and Feryn doing his best to keep him from diving in. 

“Are you both going tomorrow?” Hamid asks.

“Always do.” Feryn tosses a rag in Zolf’s direction. Zolf catches it and throws it back at Feryn. “Oi, hotshot, you headed to the dance tomorrow?” 

“You already - god, Feryn,” Zolf mutters, and then he turns toward Hamid. “If you’d like, we can go together, since it’s your first time. Plus, you need a ride, yeah?” Zolf says, balancing the sword on his thighs as he glances over at Hamid. 

“Yes, actually, if you don’t mind?” Hamid says. 

Zolf shrugs. “Not at all. It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, you never forget your first dance,” Feryn says, sighing wistfully from the counter, and Hamid laughs as Zolf rolls his eyes.

“I’ll swing round yours,” Zolf says. “Tomorrow night, about seven?” 

“Yeah, sure!” he says. “Perfect.” 

His phone beeps and Hamid glances down - Aziza is calling, so Hamid shoots her off a quick text that he’ll call her back in a moment, and waves to Zolf and Feryn. 

“See you, tomorrow, Zolf! Bye, Feryn!” he calls over his shoulder, and they both give him a wave. There’s a clattering of metal as the door swings shut behind him; there’s a distinct _ thud _ of something hitting the wall, and though he can’t make out what’s being said he can definitely hear Zolf’s muffled voice and Feryn laughing hysterically. 

—

The next night, Zolf stops by Hamid’s house to pick him up before the sun sets, as agreed, and Hamid slips into the front seat of the truck as they drive down to the beach. They chat about the upcoming season; there are a few logistical things to figure out before summer well and truly dies. New produce to sell, when tourists will be coming in, and anything else they needed to button down. 

Zolf pulls into the sandy lot and parks the truck; they both step out and take the stairs down to the beach. Hamid pulls off his shoes the moment he hits sand, curling his toes as the sand’s absorbed warmth from the sunny day seeps into his feet. 

The sun is barely a sliver on the horizon, now, and in a few moments it will be completely gone. It casts a dark shadow over the entire beach, although lanterns are set up along the path to guide the attendees to the docks. There’s a sizable crowd there as well, and Hamid scans the people as they pass by, craning his neck and standing up on tiptoes as he tries in vain to peer above the crowd.

“Oh, I think I see Sasha!” Hamid says, but in the next moment she’s gone, falling back into the shadow and out of his sight. “Never mind…” 

Zolf laughs. “That’s Sasha for you. Plus, I think she wants some alone time with Azu.” He pulls Hamid back with a warm hand on his arm and gestures to a darker part of the beach with his head. “Here, I know exactly where to go for the best view. Follow me.”

Hamid goes willingly; he trusts Zolf to know what he’s doing, even if he does cast a rather concerned look back to the crowd of people on the main docks. They trudge along the sand until getting to a small bridge, and Hamid crosses after Zolf, stepping down onto the sand. They walk through tide pools and small palm trees, before stepping up onto a dock, wood weathered beneath their feet.

“I didn’t even know this was here,” Hamid says. There’s a small lantern sitting at the edge of the dock, and he and Zolf stand there for a moment, looking at the dark expanse of ocean stretching out in front of them.

“Most people don’t,” Zolf says. “Me and Feryn found it a few years ago, and will sometimes come over here to fish, or for stuff like this. Much less crowded.”

Hamid leans on the railing in front of them and Zolf follows suit. Their elbows brush on the pier, and Hamid can feel his cheeks start to warm. There’s a chill wind blowing over the waves, and Hamid shivers. Fall is definitely on the way. 

“Cold?” Zolf murmurs, and Hamid shakes his head. 

“Only a bit,” he says. “I didn’t realize the breeze off the ocean would be this cold. Although I suppose it is the end of the summer, so I should have guessed.”

There’s a rustling sound next to him, and then he feels warm fabric drape over his shoulders, and startles slightly, glancing down. He gives Zolf a quizzical look, raising an eyebrow. 

“Won’t you be cold?” he asks, but Zolf just shrugs and shakes his head. 

“I don’t feel it as much. You get used to the chill when you work outside as much as I do,” Zolf explains, going back to resting against the pier as he looks out over the ocean. The light casts most of his face in shadow, but Hamid thinks he can see a spot of pink high on Zolf’s cheeks. He wants to bring it up, because if Zolf is lying about being cold, Hamid doesn’t want to be the cause. But Zolf’s jaw is set, and Hamid knows from experience how stubborn he can be when trying to talk him out of something, so he lets it go.

“... Thank you, Zolf,” Hamid says, quiet, and reaches up to pull the coat tighter around his shoulders. 

“Everyone ready?” Mayor Gussett calls, voice crackling through the temporary loudspeakers they’d set up, and everyone sitting on the docks cheers. Hamid reaches out to hold onto Zolf’s shoulder for balance as he leans over the edge, excitement filling his chest, and swears he can feel Zolf lean into the touch. “Here we go!”

He pushes the small boat with the lantern on it into the sea, and the lights around the docks are extinguished. Darkness sweeps over them, the only pinpricks of light the small lanterns outside of the fishing store on the banks and the multitude of stars in the sky. Hamid can barely see the lanterns from the dock he and Zolf are standing on, but maybe it’s better that way.

It’s quiet, for a moment, and Hamid feels his heartbeat skip a beat and pick up as Zolf shifts slightly closer to him. And then, in the distance, lights, moving toward them. There are only a few, bobbing along, but they’re slowly joined by others, and in a moment or two they’re all congregating by the docks. Some break apart from the main group and float toward where Hamid and Zolf are, lighting the air around them with a muted white, dappling across the wood as the water ebbs and shifts. 

“Oh,” Hamid murmurs, tempted to reach his hand down into the water as the jellyfish float closer, soft lights dancing in the ocean. Zolf had been right; it’s a truly magical sight, a wonder to behold.

There’s another jellyfish near them, now, and it’s glowing a faint green, unlike all the others glowing white. It’s larger, too, letting itself be carried along by the current of the waves.

Hamid turns to look at Zolf, mouth half open to point it out; the glow from the jellyfish is lighting up the planes of his face, there’s a soft smile tugging at his lips as he looks out over the water, and his hair is blowing slightly in the breeze coming off the ocean. There’s something in his eyes, a pure unrestrained glee, and Hamid finds he can’t look away.

It’s - he’s beautiful. 

Oh. 

_ Oh. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was gonna wait until i had the next three events done as well but one of them has been like pulling teeth so at least take this one

_ 20 September _

On his next trip into town, Hamid glances around curiously at all the different colors of bunting and small flags hung up around the shops. There are a number of tents set up just off the street, bare for now, but with signs advertising different games and wares. They stretch all down the street, and a number of alleyways have been blocked off with caution tape. Hamid peers down one and sees a group of men hurriedly working on constructing a few small wooden tables, tilted up as though they’ll be displaying merchandise.

_ Strange _ , he thinks, and ducks into Feryn’s shop, which is similarly outfitted with small flags with the town name on them. Feryn is nowhere to be found, but Zolf is manning the counter, and he looks up as Hamid enters, lips pulling up in a genuine smile. 

“Hi, Hamid,” he says, and Hamid gives him a small smile and a wave. 

“Morning, Zolf! How are you?”

“Fine, thanks. Yourself?” 

“Doing well, thank you. What’s with all the decorations?” he asks, gesturing vaguely toward the street outside the shop. 

“Town fair is tomorrow,” Zolf says, resting his head on his arms as he closes his eyes. “Decorations have been up for a few days, now, and they should be finishing everything up by tonight.”

“Tomorrow?” Hamid asks, although he’s not sure why he’s surprised anymore. “I had no idea.”

Zolf shrugs. “They get it up and down real quick, all efficient-like. Easy to miss the construction, especially if you’re outside of town.”

Hamid hops onto the barstool opposite Zolf and Zolf cracks an eye open. “I keep forgetting this is your first year in town. Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s fine, Zolf! I guess I was just curious why the fair only lasts for a day?”

Zolf shrugs. “Something to do with the available funds, I reckon. I’ve never really thought about it before.”

Hamid nods. “So what do you… all  _ do _ at a town fair anyway?”

“Mostly? Wander around, play some rigged games, buy some food, and then head over for the grange display showcase.”

Hamid cocks his head. “Grange display?” he asks.

“Yeah, uh - a whole lot of the shopkeepers and farmers in the town will display their best of the best for judging, and then the winner gets a prize. It’s always fun. Some people come up with proper interesting stuff. And, if you’d like, we can do a dual display,” Zolf offers. “But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I’m not sure I have anything to offer,” Hamid says slowly. It’s not self-deprecating, really; he just doesn’t, and especially not anything he could prepare by tomorrow morning. Maybe next year he can mark it on the calendar and sew some clothes or make some jewelry for display. “I think I’ll pass, this year. Obviously you can take anything from the shop, though! Most of it’s yours anyway.”

“I’m not going to take your  _ wares _ , Hamid. And next year, then. I’ll remind you,” Zolf says.

“Alright,” Hamid says, but he’s still slightly unconvinced. “Anyway, do you participate every year?”

“Yeah. Me and Feryn usually place pretty highly in the competition. He actually won it last year. Spent a few months on this one sword that stole the judges’ breath.”

“Wow,” Hamid says, glancing around the shop. “Which one is it?” 

Zolf laughs. “Oh, he doesn’t keep it in here. It’s hanging in his house. Badge of pride, he says.”

“That’s incredible! And - don’t tell Feryn,” Hamid says, leaning in close. “But I’m hoping you win this year.”

Zolf gives him a small smile. “Thanks, Hamid. I won’t tell him.”

Hamid smiles back and hops off of the stool. “See you tomorrow, then?”

“See you tomorrow.”

—

The town fair is, well. Not exactly what Hamid had expected, although it’s close. He’d been to a few festivals and fairs back in uni, and most of them seemed to be comprised of games that you could never win at and fried food. The fair has all that, of course, but there are also farmers and shopkeepers displaying their best produce and wares in all the alleyways that Hamid had seen blocked off the day before. 

He wanders around for a bit, just browsing through some of the wares. The twins and Aziza’s birthdays are coming up soon, and maybe he can find something to buy for them here. There are some lovely necklaces a bit further ahead, and he looks through them until he finds the perfect one for Aziza; it’s a black necklace that shines in the light, with a ruby charm that’s been shaped to look like a sun. 

“How much?” he asks the shopkeeper; he thinks he’s seen her around his store before, but he’s never been the best with faces. He happily hands over the money as she answers, and carefully wraps the necklace up to stick it in his pocket. 

It takes a fair bit more of wandering before he finally bumps into someone he knows, quite literally. He collides with Grizzop in the middle of the street, not paying attention as he looks at all the different stands stretching down the lane. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Morning, Grizzop,” Hamid says, reaching out to give the other man a handshake. 

“Wotcher, Hamid,” Grizzop greets, shaking back, and together they set off down the lane. They talk for a while; Hamid wants to know how Veeseek is getting on, and Grizzop has some questions about the store. They both avoid the topic of the mines, although Hamid is sure Grizzop has an entire lecture ready for him at the drop of a hat about not needing to prove himself and not being an idiot and biting off more than you can chew. Hamid had heard the entire spiel already while still at the medical centre, and he doesn’t need to hear it again. So instead they talk about things of little consequence, discussing the weather, how the shop’s doing, when Sasha and Azu are finally going to tie the knot… Hamid’s guess is next summer, but Grizzop thinks it’ll be earlier. 

About an hour passes as they wander and chat together, making some stops at booths along the way for Grizzop to get new medical supplies and herbs, and then suddenly Grizzop’s watch beeps and he pulls to a stop, grabbing at Hamid’s sleeve as he turns fully around and begins marching back up the street in the direction they just came from. 

“They should be making the grange display winner announcement soon. You coming?” Grizzop tosses over his shoulder.

“Oh! Of course!” Hamid says, following along and craning his neck as much as he can over the crowd to look for Zolf’s display. It’s hard, when there aren’t signs pointing to who’s is who’s, but eventually he sees Zolf standing next to a table that must be his own wares, looking uncharacteristically nervous. 

Mayor Gussett is standing on a slightly raised stage in front of all of the attendees, microphone in hand, as he starts the ceremony. 

“This year, we had a number of incredible displays,” Mayor Gussett starts off. “With such a variety of different wares and produce, choosing who to award the coveted first place spot to has been difficult. However, we’ve narrowed it down to three lucky winners, who’ve shown great promise and care in selecting the products they’ve chosen to display.”

Hamid tries to catch Zolf’s eye, and eventually does, giving him a little wave while Zolf smiles back. Gods, but he really wants Zolf to win. 

“Now, in third place, we have….” Mayor Gussett says, pausing for dramatic effect. “Kelsie Woods, with her grange display!” 

A woman Hamid doesn’t know comes up and grabs the medal Mayor Gussett is holding, smiling brightly as she waves to the crowd. She goes back to her display after one moment and kisses someone who must be her wife on the cheek before proudly hanging the medal next to the stand. 

“And next, in second place, we have…” Mayor Gussett says, squinting down at the envelope in his hand. “Zolf Smith!”

Hamid cheers louder than anyone else as Zolf walks up to take the award, clapping as loud as he’s able. He’d wished Zolf would have gotten first, but second is still incredible, and Zolf looks happy enough when he takes the medal. Grizzop nudges him in the shoulder and waggles his eyebrows when Zolf turns to wave at them, and Hamid gives him a confused look.

“What?” he asks, smiling a bit confusedly.

“You know what? Nevermind,” Grizzop says, muttering something Hamid can’t hear under his breath. Oh well. It’s probably nothing.

Mayor Gussett announces the first place winner - someone else Hamid doesn't recognize the name of, but thinks it’s someone who’s been to his store before - and then the grange display contest comes to a close. 

“I’m going to go talk to Zolf,” he says to Grizzop over the clamor of the crowd, and Grizzop nods. “See you later!” 

The grange displays are all close together, and so many families are already crowded around them that Hamid struggles to push through, apologizing time and time again as he tries to make it to Zolf’s grange display. Finally, the crowd seems to spit him out, and he spots Zolf’s display just one over, making a beeline for where he can see Zolf sitting on a bench. The second place medal swings on a hook right above his display. 

“Bad luck, that,” Hamid says sympathetically, finally coming to sit down next to Zolf. He pats Zolf’s shoulder after a moment’s hesitation, but Zolf doesn’t pull away like he’d expected, instead leaning into the touch.

“Could be worse, I suppose. Second place is still respectably high, and I’ll get to lord this over Feryn for a year,” Zolf says, gesturing at Feryn’s display, which has a large medal with a 4 on it placed precariously atop some of the items in the display. “I’ll cinch it next year.”

“Yeah. Yeah, next year,” Hamid says. “I think - maybe next year we could enter together?” 

Zolf turns to look at him, with a smile creeping over his face. “Yeah, er - I’d like that a lot.”

Hamid can feel himself blushing, and hopes that the scarf he’s wearing just makes it look like it’s nothing but the cold. 

The fair goes on for a while after that, although Hamid and Zolf duck away, grabbing Sasha and Azu on the way out, as they head down to the beach. It’s one of the last few nice days that they’re meant to have before it gets freezing, and spending the time in a crowded main square sounds less fun than spending it with each other. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me @ myself: just pick one festival a season dont do all of them   
me @ myself: fuck you i do what i want   
anyway. the town fair and the ice fishing bit were like PULLING TEETH hhhhh so sorry abt the lesser quality there but halloween and christmas fun  
also: at some point i’ll probably consolidate this into two chapters as opposed to having something short in between them since having two super long chapters makes more sense than long - short - long lol.

_ 31 October _

The leaves on the trees change just as gradually as everything else, going steadily from a bright green to all different shades of burnished gold and red-orange and yellow and brown - it’s beautiful, Hamid thinks, and on nights when it’s not too cold, he’ll sit out on his porch (or head over to Zolf’s farm for a visit) with a blanket and watch the stars pass by.

Fall comes proper before he’s ready for it, and Zolf’s visits get more infrequent in the space between old crops dying and new crops coming to fruition. The shop stays just as busy as ever, new clientele coming ‘round who Hamid hasn’t met before, looking for new wares and items. Zolf keeps him fully stocked even in between having produce ready to go. 

He stops by Sasha’s antiques store a lot on his days off, and more often than not finds Azu there as well - which he’s happy to have done on this particular day, as well.

“What are you dressing up as?” Azu is asking, standing next to the counter with Sasha perched precariously on her shoulders, messing with something in one of the higher cabinets. Hamid is standing off to the side, worrying his lip with his teeth as his hands flutter about uselessly. He could try to catch Sasha if she fell, but it would probably just end up doing damage to both of them. Still. He’s nervous.

“Hamid,” Azu says, and he blinks, glancing over at her. “Did you hear me?”

“Oh! Sorry, Azu, I was a little lost in thought. Dressing up for what?” he asks, and Azu tilts her head, confused.

“Spirit’s Eve. It’s tomorrow night. Surely you already heard?” she says, while Hamid shakes his head. 

“Of course it’s tomorrow,” he mutters under his breath, and then, louder: “No, I hadn’t heard! I’m sure I can… scrounge something up, probably? I’m sure I have enough golden face paint left. How about you two, what are you going as?” 

“Secret,” Sasha says, swinging down from Azu’s shoulder and landing perfectly on the counter, legs crossed. She leans over and gives Azu a peck on the cheek, and Azu smiles and leans against her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You’ll see tomorrow.”

“Sorry, Hamid,” Azu says, miming locking her lips and throwing away the key. “You’ll see tomorrow.”

Hamid huffs, but it’s more for the drama than because he’s actually upset. “Well, mine will have to be a surprise too, then!” he retorts, but there’s no fire in it. Azu smiles at him apologetically.

“I’m sorry you didn’t know earlier,” Azu says, as Sasha slips away, tinkering with a few of the strange objects on the table. Hamid waves it away - he’d be more surprised if he knew more than a day in advance when it comes to this town and it’s celebrations. 

“It’s not your fault. And I’m sure I can pull something together in time,” he says, determined. It might have to be a repeat costume, which (he internally cringes) simply isn’t  _ done, _ but at this late stage Hamid may have to just suck it up and get on with it. Plus, no one here would have seen the costume before; it’s unlikely anyone would have been at the McGuffingham Hallowe’en party five years ago. “Well, I’m off. Have to go see what I can scrounge up!”

“Good luck! Let us know if we can help you with anything,” Azu says, leaning over to give Hamid a hug that he happily returns. He gives Sasha a wave, and sticks his hands in his pockets as he heads out the door.

He  _ really _ hopes he has enough gold paint to pull the costume he’s building in his mind together.

—

Hamid spends nearly the entire next day getting ready, and it takes no less than ten trips to his closet to get the outfit completely right before he’s more than satisfied. His makeup is exactly what he wants it to be, shimmering in the soft moonlight, and his cheekbones look sharp enough, thanks to the makeup. Finding the right dress has been the biggest hassle, considering how much of his wardrobe he’d left at home in the move.

He spies Azu from a ways off and nearly shrieks in excitement when he sees her costume: black latex pants, hot pink jacket, and a black-haired wig with tight curls close to the head. 

“To act cool, to look cool, and to  _ be _ cool,” Hamid chants, coming up behind Azu and smiling as she whirls around, laughing excitedly. 

“Hamid!” she nearly yells, and pulls him into a hug. He squeezes back with as good as he’s got, still mindful of the makeup caking his face.

“Where’s Sasha?” he asks, pulling back, “and more importantly, is she dressed as Sandy at the end of the movie?” 

“She is!” Azu says. “She wanted to be Danny Zuko, but then we watched the movie together and talked about how Sandy and Rizzo should have ended up together at the end, and decided to make it happen. She was heading over to the maze last I saw her.”

“Well, you look amazing!” Hamid says, pulling back more so that he can look at her. “I love it!”

“‘Me? What about you? Hamid, you look  _ incredible _ !” Azu says, clapping her hands together before pulling him forward and inspecting his face. 

Hamid preens; he thinks he’s allowed some praise, after all. He’d spent ages creating the perfect scaly texture on his skin with a mix of gold and silver glitter for shadow, and making sure that the gold paint on his eyelids matched the gold lip stain he’d used. There are gems glued to the side of his face, fake amethyst and jade jewels laid out symmetrically on both of his temples. He’d been lucky to find a set of tapered ears in a bargain bin at the last-minute Spirit’s Eve store on the main strip, and pulled the entire outfit together with a silk-spun silver robe over a dark brown blouse and trousers combo. 

Not to be vain, but he thinks he looks  _ wonderful. _ A golden dragon. Hamid’s more proud of it now than he was the first time he’d done the costume - five years of doing makeup improved his skills exponentially - and the incidental connections to his shop’s name only heighten the costume, in his eyes. 

“I’m going to head off,” Azu says, rocking up on the balls of her feet as she peers over a crowd - an easy feat, for her, being over six foot tall. “Me and Sasha are supposed to do the maze together, and I don’t want her to leave without me.”

“Oh, do go ahead, bye Azu!” Hamid calls after her, and then heads off himself to wander around the square. 

There are vendors set up all along the street selling their wares, and Hamid browses down the line, tempted by a gorgeous jade amulet, but ultimately passing it by.

He’s perched over another stall, entranced by the spices that they’re selling, when he feels a hand clap down on his shoulder and spin him around.

“Hamid, my boy!” Mayor Gussett says, and pulls him into a hug that Hamid happily returns after getting over the initial shock.

“Hello, Mayor Gussett,” Hamid says, smiling. “The town looks incredible! Very spooky.” 

“Ah, yes, just what I wanted to hear, son,” he responds, and gestures to the street behind him. “Every Spirit’s Eve, we try to make it better than the one before. Bigger pumpkins, more vendors, and -“ he leans in conspiratorially, “I have it on  _ good authority _ that the maze is scarier and more twisty than ever.”

Hamid feels a shiver run along his spine as he glances over at the dark hedges on the outskirts of the town square. “I’ll have to go in, then, won’t I?” he says with a weak laugh that Mayor Gussett thankfully takes as sincere. 

“See that you do! And there’s a treasure on the inside, if you can find it,” he says, tapping the side of his nose and winking at Hamid. “Full of  _ riches.” _

Mayor Gussett heads off after that, making Hamid promise once more to give the maze a try. And, the thing is: it’s not that he doesn’t  _ want  _ to try the maze, it’s that he’s had enough terrifying experiences to last the year already, thanks to the time he and Zolf went down into the mines together. Still, a promise is a promise, and maybe he can find Sasha and Azu in there and they can wander around hopelessly for a bit before ultimately giving up and heading over to the drinks table. 

He makes his way around to the maze before long, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet as he stares into the dark hedges. Somehow, the light from the square doesn’t even trickle into the maze, almost like there’s a veil of darkness covering the entrance. It makes him shiver, and he can swear he sees shadows moving inside.

“Oi, Hamid!” he hears, and spots Feryn waving at him from an alternate entrance to the maze. He waves back, and heads over to say hello. 

Feryn’s dressed for the occasion as well, pieces of straw poking out from between the buttons of his shirt and out the sleeves as he gestures at Hamid.

“Scarecrow?” he asks once he’s close enough, and Feryn nods.

“Got it in one. Grabbed one of Zolf’s old shirts and stuffed some straw in it, how’d it work?”

“Looks awesome,” Hamid says, while Feryn does a dramatic 360-degree turn. “Very authentic.”

“Thanks,” Feryn says, giving him a grin. “For not a lot of effort, I think I pulled it off. Anyway, you thinking of heading in? Zolf should be somewhere inside.” He points back to the maze behind him, looming ominously. The tall hedges stretch above his head, casting long shadows over the path. It looks ominous, imposing; he’d thought it would be more of a corn maze style, with twisting turns and dead ends, but this looks more like something directly out of a horror movie. 

“I - er, are  _ you  _ going in?” Hamid asks, trying to sound less scared than he feels, but Feryn just laughs.

“I already know where everything is. Me and Zolf set up the maze,” Feryn says, leaning back against the hedge with a rakish grin. “Careful. It’s spooky in there. Might see something watching you from around the corner.”

Hamid bites his lip. “Maybe I’ll pass, this year.”

“Oh, come on, mate, give her a go,” Feryn says. “Could be the one to get to the treasure in the middle.”

It’s less of a compelling argument than Feryn thinks, but he does still want to see if he can find Zolf to chat with him, and maybe he can join up with Sasha and Azu if he finds them. He steels himself, breathing in, and heads off toward the maze, calling a goodbye to Feryn over his shoulder as he does so. The maze looks about as uninviting as anything else he could imagine, and for a moment he really wonders why he’s doing this, but it’s too late to back out now without Feryn never letting him live it down. So he steps inside, and almost immediately the noise from the outside is muffled, and everything seems a lot darker than it has been. He turns around to look outside, finding a small comfort in that the hedge hasn’t closed up behind him, and trudges onward into the dark. 

And, gods, Feryn had said it was a maze, and he was correct. Five minutes in and Hamid’s already run into about ten dead ends, having to turn around and retrace his steps in frustration before finding the correct path. It doesn’t help that the bushes will sometimes shake when he walks by them; he’s pretty certain it’s not a squirrel or a chipmunk, but he’s trying not to let himself think about it too much. 

Eventually, he finds Azu standing,  _ definitely  _ not cowering, against one of the walls of the maze, eyes wide as she looks around. 

“It’s. Very small in here, Hamid,” Azu says, and her voice is rougher than Hamid has ever heard before. “Very tight.”

“Oh, no, Azu, do you want me to escort you out?” Hamid asks, concern growing as he sees Azu grip harder at the hedge under her fingers. She shakes her head.

“No, I’ll - I will wait for Sasha to come back this way. I do not want to abandon her to this maze.”

Hamid’s sure Sasha is in her element. It’s dark, it’s quiet, and it’s well spooky. What more could she ask for? 

As he heads off, leaving a slightly-panicking Azu behind, he makes a mental note to send Sasha in this direction if he can find her. Azu doesn’t seem like she’s having the best time. Although, to be fair, the chance of him finding Sasha, local master at sneaking around through the shadows, in a dark maze is next to zero. Still, he’ll keep an eye out. Just in case. 

He keeps walking for a bit until he spies another familiar person, and follows the path until he’s standing next to Grizzop.

“Hello, Grizzop,” Hamid says, and Grizzop gives him a distracted wave, not looking away from the hedge in front of him.

“Wotcher. Don’t distract me, mate, trying to figure this out.”

“Figure… what out, exactly?” Hamid asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

“There’s definitely something here,” Grizzop says, staring intently at what might be a puzzle, or maybe it’s just a brightly colored wall. Hamid can't be sure; there’s no discernible pattern he can see, but Grizzop seems to think there is. 

Hamid shakes his head at Grizzop, fondly, and continues along the maze, turning another corner. 

Dead end. He folds his arms and stares at the hedge in front of him, tapping his foot in frustration. It’s so quiet around him, he realizes. The music from the square is completely gone, and the lights are barely even visible when Hamid turns around. He shivers, and swears he can see the bushes around him moving as well, as though fluttering from a wind that isn’t there. It’s proper spooky, now, and Hamid decides once and for all that maybe today shouldn’t be the day he dies, and spins on his heel to march out of the maze.

A hand reaches out from the hedge and Hamid tries to scramble away, but it catches his upper arm and pulls him into it. He starts to yell but a hand claps over his mouth. It’s dark, and Hamid struggles to break their grip on him, finally getting his arm free and driving an elbow into their stomach.

His captor lets go with a sharp intake of breath, swearing, and Hamid whirls around, fists up as he recognizes - 

“Zolf?!” he exclaims, raised fists moving instead to cover his mouth in shock and embarrassment. Zolf is hunched over, arms wrapped around his stomach as he groans slightly. “What are you  _ doing?” _

“Since when could you throw an elbow like that?” Zolf gasps out, resting his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. “I dunno whether to be angry or impressed.”

“Oh! Er - Sasha taught me. Said I looked like a bit of a berk, strutting about, and that I needed to learn how to defend myself. I think she was trying to help?” Hamid says. “Oh, dear, Zolf, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was you!”

“ _ Christ _ , Hamid,” Zolf says again, and straightens up, letting out his breath through his teeth.

“Well, what were you doing skulking around in a maze? In the  _ dark _ , no less, you nearly gave me a heart attack! And don’t forget my -“ Hamid cuts himself off to wiggle his fingers at Zolf. “I don’t know how it  _ works _ , I could have  _ killed you!” _

“But you  _ didn’t, _ ” Zolf says, a completely convincing argument, and Hamid frowns at him. Or, well, he frowns at where he  _ thinks _ Zolf is; it's hard to see in pitch black. 

Zolf makes a small noise of realization and Hamid hears a whirring noise as a torch switches on, bathing them both in an eerie yellow light.

“Wow,” Zolf says, eyeing Hamid up and down. “You - did you do all that yourself?” 

Hamid nods. “I’ve done it before, but -“ he lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Don’t tell anyone - it’s bad form to do a costume again.”

Zolf, for his part, is dressed in the part of a perfect pirate, bandana wrapped around his hair and an eyepatch covering his left eye. He’s even got the stuffed parrot on one shoulder and his prosthetic looks exactly like a peg leg. The billowy shirt he’s wearing is particularly flattering, and Hamid coughs as he looks around the small section of hedge he’s in now. The walls rise high on all four sides of them, and Hamid immediately gets the feeling of being completely dwarfed again. 

“So. Ran into anyone else in here?” Zolf asks. Hamid almost wants to raise the objection that he didn't  _ run into  _ Zolf, Zolf pulled him through a hedge and into whatever this… small section of the maze is, but ends up not. 

“Saw Azu. She’s really not having a good time,” Hamid offers, thinking back to how shaky she had seemed. “I asked if she wanted to leave but she wouldn’t even move.”

Zolf gives him a worried look. “Oh,  _ no, _ I warned her not to come in. It’s too tight.” He pulls out his phone, and the screen is bright in the dark maze. “I’ll text Feryn. He’ll help.”

“Lovely,” Hamid says. “I was trying to find Sasha, but, well.” Zolf snorts.

“Yeah, good luck with that. Even I haven’t ever been able to find her once she gets in here. She just melts into the walls.” That’s the truth. Hamid thinks he’s been through a decent portion of the maze, and he never even saw a hint of Sasha. This is her element. 

“Feryn told you there was a prize in the middle, yeah?” Zolf asks. “Keep walking.”

Hamid gives Zolf a confused look and turns around slowly in a circle. None of the hedges have gaps, including the one he was pulled through. It’s just dense brush on each side of them; he couldn’t walk anywhere even if he tried to, and Zolf has another thing coming if he expects Hamid to fight his way through a hedge to get to a treasure.

“Oh, right,” Zolf says, and reaches out to his side, pulling what Hamid had thought to be a hedge to the side. “Vines.”

Vines, indeed. Twisting and curling and looking exactly like a hedge, bulky and thick so as to not show any hint of light from the other side. Soft electric candles are lit along the pathway in front of them as Zolf pulls the vines aside and gestures for Hamid to head on through.

It would almost be  _ romantic _ , if it wasn’t stuck smack dab in the center of the spookiest haunted maze Hamid’s ever been in. And he  _ isn’t  _ supposed to be thinking about that, anyway, so best to just. Not.

“Really, Zolf, isn’t this cheating?” Hamid asks, instead of anything else. “I mean, you and Feryn made the maze, so shouldn’t someone else have… I don’t know, a sporting chance? You’re just showing me the way around.”

Zolf shrugs. “No one’s ever found the treasure, anyway.”

Hamid thinks that that might point out a flaw in the maze design rather than an error on behalf of the people inside, but he isn’t going to be the one to point that out. It’s still a bit surprising that Sasha never found the treasure, out of everyone. But he supposes most people don’t go around pressing on the walls of a hedge maze for fun. He continues walking down the path, followed closely by Zolf; the candles are giving off nothing more than a faint light, enough to see by but not enough to illuminate the entire pathway. 

Here they are, sequestered away from the world, hidden by tall hedges that block out any hint of noise or activity from the outside. It’s a special kind of peaceful, even with the cold air blowing against his exposed skin. Zolf’s warm hand tugs on his forearm and Hamid comes to a stop, glancing over at him. Zolf shakes the torch and it clicks on again, illuminating the path ahead of them with a bright light.

Sitting in the middle of the path is what looks to be an old, authentic treasure chest, lock and all. Hamid turns and gives Zolf another confused look, but Zolf just gestures for him to go ahead and open it. Hamid has a few misgivings, most important of which being the heffing great lock, but as he gets closer he realizes the lock’s already been undone. 

He crouches down in front of the chest and pulls the lock off, setting it down carefully on the side. It’s a lot lighter than he expected it to be, almost like it was out there just for show. Hamid doesn’t say anything about it, instead pulling the chest open and reaching in for the prize.

“A - a golden pumpkin?” Hamid asks, holding it up to the minimal light they have. It gleams, even without bright light shining on it, and it still feels like a real pumpkin. “How did you -“

“Found it, years ago. Me and Feryn we’re pulling up some of the crops the day after Spirit’s Eve, and this turned up. No idea how.” He wiggles his fingers in Hamid’s direction. “Could be magic.”

“Is - is it real?” Hamid asks, and Zolf shrugs.

“Can’t be sure, but… don’t think someone would leave a solid gold pumpkin on the farm, and we’ve tried washing it off and nothing’s happened, so. Decided it would be a good gift for whatever lucky bloke made it to the center of the maze.”

Hamid smiles. “So, me then? With some help, of course,” he amends, and the corner of Zolf’s mouth pulls up in a smile. 

“No one else needs to know. And it er - it matches your costume,” Zolf says, laughing quietly in the darkness, and Hamid feels himself blush, looking down at the golden pumpkin in his hands.

“Well, I hope I look better than a  _ pumpkin,”  _ he teases, and Zolf chuckles as he takes a step closer and pulls a clump of glitter out of Hamid’s hair, letting it float to the ground in a shimmer of gold. 

“You do,” he says, with gold on his hands, and Hamid wonders what he would look like with gold smeared across his lips. 

“I - er -“ he stammers, taking a step back. 

“We -“

They both laugh as they speak at the same time, Hamid tucking his curls behind his ear as he bites his lip, smiling over at Zolf. The moment,  _ whatever _ it had been leading to, is broken, and Hamid isn’t sure if he’s relieved or regretful. 

Neither of them speak for a moment, almost like they’re waiting for the other to continue. “How on earth do we get out?” Hamid says, eventually, needing to fill the silence with something. “Not that this hasn’t been a lovely time, and you know I enjoy spending time with you, but it’s starting to get colder out and this pumpkin is  _ heavy.” _

Zolf turns on his heel and starts walking toward another hedge wall, feeling around it for a moment until he pulls a set of vines away. Just beyond the vines Hamid can see the edges of the town, and he turns to give Zolf an accusatory look. 

“So I could have avoided the entire maze if I’d wanted?” he says, crossing his arms the best he can while still holding the pumpkin. Zolf just gives him a wink, lifting up the edge of his eyepatch so Hamid can clearly see it. 

“Now you know about the secret entrance,” he says, and Hamid hits him lightly on the arm as he rolls his eyes. “See you tomorrow? I’d leave as well, but need to make sure no one’s stuck later on.”

“Yeah - yeah, Zolf. Tomorrow,” Hamid says, clutching the pumpkin close to his chest. “And. Thank you.”

Zolf really has a beautiful smile. His eyes crinkle at the corners and his mouth pulls up in a shy smile, and Hamid feels himself blush when Zolf nods. “Anytime, Hamid.”

—

_ 20 November  _

Hamid hates the cold. The sun barely comes out in the winter in Dunnock Town, leading to days upon days spent looking out the window to see nothing but greyness and bleakness. It’s depressing, and Hamid really wants to see the sun again. He’s so used to the heat from living in Cairo, and even when he’d moved to London for university he and his friends had traveled enough weekends that seeing the sun wasn’t an anomaly. But here, the sun barely peeks out from behind the clouds, and Hamid finds he’s growing quite tired of it very quickly.

So, it stands to reason, then, that the second there’s even a spot of sunlight he runs outside, intent on soaking up every drop of it that he can. Some days he drags Sasha with him, some days Azu, and on one slightly memorable occasion, Grizzop, who hadn’t been wearing a coat and had been very cross indeed. Hamid had apologized a lot for that one. But most of the time it’s Zolf who gets wrapped up in it, since he spends the most amount of time at the store. 

This afternoon is no different; the moment he sees a ray of sunlight peek into the shop, he’s up and moving. Hamid grabs Zolf’s hand and tugs him outside, ignoring his confused questions and trying not to blush when their fingers almost instinctively twine together. 

“Hamid, what -“ is all Zolf can get out before Hamid pulls him out through the front door and into the sunlight. “Oh. Sun.” 

“ _ Sun,  _ Zolf!” he says, clapping excitedly, and Zolf just gives him a good-natured smile, before ducking back into the house and grabbing their coats. He tosses Hamid his, and Hamid, miracle of miracles, catches it in his hands. Shrugging the jacket on is a necessary delay, but then Hamid is tugging on Zolf’s arm again, impatient. “Can we just go on a quick walk? Say the shop is closing for twenty minutes, a lunch break or something?”

“Hamid, you can go, I’ll stay behind and watch the shop,” Zolf offers, fondness shimmering in his eyes and making Hamid’s heart skip a beat, but  _ no. Nope. Shouldn’t be thinking of that.  _ It’s fine. He’ll compartmentalise it and deal with it… not now.

“I don’t want to go on a walk alone,” he says, only pouting a little bit, and Zolf puts up not even the slightest fight, stepping off of the porch to come up next to Hamid.

“Alright then, let’s be off,” he says, agreeable, and sets off down the lane. Hamid feels a smile curl his lips as he follows, familiar spot of warmth in his chest flaring up again as he watches Zolf walk away. He follows closely behind him, catching up quickly as they walk side by side. 

It’s still dead cold out, but at least the sun is starting to warm Hamid up as they head along the pavement. There’s barely even a breeze, which helps with the whole being warm thing, and Hamid’s got his favorite fuzzy hat on to keep his head and ears warm. If it was just a few degrees warmer, he might even call it a pleasant day out. He wishes he’d grabbed his scarf, but his coat buttons up to his neck, and he’s got his head tucked neatly into the collar.

“Well, we’ll be closing the shop tomorrow,” Zolf says, shielding his eyes as the sun beats down.

“What do you mean, closing the shop tomorrow?” Hamid asks, looking over at Zolf. 

“Oh, right,” Zolf says. “I keep forgetting. Tomorrow’s the Festival of Ice,” Zolf explains. “Perfect time for it. The pond outside of town has completely frozen over, so we’ll be able to cut out the holes for the ice fishing competition. And it’s finally cold enough that the ice for the sculptures won’t melt.”

“Of course you have a festival that  _ celebrates _ the cold,” Hamid mutters, and Zolf barks a short laugh. 

“Hamid, you just need a thicker coat. The one you have looks thin as all hell, and you never wear gloves,” he says, raising an eyebrow as he gives Hamid a once over. “I might have an old coat that could fit you. And then you could deal with the cold like the rest of us.”

“The cold and the ice and I don’t get - oh!” Hamid cries out in alarm as he slips on the ice, feet sliding out from under him as Zolf catches him with one arm under his shoulders and another wrapped around his waist. He finally finds his footing, stumbling into Zolf as he does so, and grips Zolf’s forearms in his hands to keep from toppling over again. 

“Gods, Hamid, you alright? Gave us a bit of a scare there,” Zolf says, looking concernedly down at him. He’s like a furnace, in the cold winter air, and Hamid finds himself stuttering for a moment before pulling away and immediately missing the warmth. 

“Yes! Yes, I’m fine, thank you for catching me,” he says, awkwardly rubbing at his upper arm. He knows his cheeks must be red, and hopes Zolf thinks it’s just from the cold and the adrenaline of the fall instead of anything else.

Zolf doesn’t completely look like he believes him, hands still raised like he wants to reach out and steady Hamid. Hamid feels more than a little embarrassed, but surely being caught by Zolf is better than ending up on his arse, even if his heart is racing faster than it had been before. 

A shadow passes over them and Hamid looks up, only to spy a cloud slowly covering the sun

“Oh,” Hamid says, disappointed, and shoves his hands into his coat pocket. “Sun’s gone again.” 

“That she is,” Zolf says, wrapping a casual arm around Hamid’s shoulders. “Seems like the clouds won't be clearing anytime soon either. Tell you what. We can close the store for the rest of the afternoon, head back to mine, and have some hot cocoa or tea? Sasha and Azu should be free, and we can ask Brock and Feryn and Grizzop what they’re up to as well. Sound good?” 

Hamid turns and pulls Zolf into a tight hug, which the other man eventually reciprocates, patting him gently on the back. “Thank you,” he says, squeezing once more and letting go. When he pulls back, Zolf has a soft look on his face, smiling down at him, and Hamid has to look ahead so he doesn’t give away how fast his heart is flipping in his chest. 

—

The Festival of Ice is both exactly what Hamid expected and the complete opposite. He knows it’s a festival of  _ ice _ , had been expecting there to be ice blocks and ice fishing thanks to Zolf telling him so, but he hadn’t expected the  _ entire damn festival _ to be out in the freezing cold winter air. Honestly, even a small gazebo or tent with a space heater or fire going inside would be preferable to just… this. This open air festival held in the dead of winter. 

Needless to say, Hamid isn’t having the best time. Zolf actually had ended up bringing a coat from the farm for him, although it dwarfed him, and he’d turned it down on principle. Now, however, as it slowly gets colder and the sun continues to refuse to come out from behind the clouds. He’s sure his friends are somewhere around here, and he’d be able to find them if he looked. But all of a sudden he’s blocked by a tall, muscular man dressed in a bright yellow sweater with the biggest scarf Hamid has ever seen wrapped around his neck. 

“Hamid!” he says. “Good to see you, mate, been too long.”

“Oh! Good morning, Ed!” Hamid greets, and then he’s being wrapped up in probably the nicest-smelling bear hug he’s had in a while. He’s warm, but lets go of Hamid all too quickly. Hamid peers up at him, and it’s like he doesn’t even  _ feel _ the cold, the way he’s beaming down at him. 

“Morning, Hamid! Lovely day out, yeah?”

“Ed,” Hamid says, teeth chattering. “You live on the  _ beach _ . How can you not hate this weather?”

“Oh, you get used to it. Me cabin doesn’t have a heater or nothin’, so I’ve got loads of blankets. Gets dead cold,” Ed says, nodding almost sagely, and Hamid shakes his head. 

“I may have a spare in my shop, you know? I could bring it down,” Hamid offers, because he simply can’t  _ imagine _ living without one, like Ed’s been doing. Plus, he likes Ed - he’s one of the nicest people Hamid’s ever met, and even if it does take him a moment to understand things sometimes, he’s smarter than most give him credit for. 

Ed just shrugs at the offer, though. “I don’t feel it much anymore. Got used to it, I suppose.”

Hamid shakes his head in disbelief. Someone knocks into his back and he stumbles forward into Ed, catching himself quickly. “Sorry! Sorry, didn’t mean to,” he babbles, turning and glaring at the back of whoever shoved him’s head as they walk away. Still, the closer he’s standing to Ed, the warmer he feels, as though Ed is just radiating heat. 

“Gods, it’s like you’re a  _ walking  _ space heater, Ed” Hamid says, and for a moment he has to weigh the pros and cons of letting Ed give him a piggyback ride. The pros far outweigh the cons at the moment; he’s too cold to really care about what other people think of him, and Ed is a sweetheart who won’t mind that Hamid’s partially using him for his warmth. He’s also a good friend, who is  _ immediately _ ready to give Hamid a piggyback ride, crouching down in front of him so Hamid can clamber up. 

Ed’s bulk blocks a lot of the wind, and even through the layers Hamid feels warmer than he had before. “Anywhere you want to go, chief?” he says, and Hamid scans the crowd until he spots a few familiar faces - Grizzop and Zolf, standing right by the frozen-over lake. He points over to them and Ed nods, before hefting Hamid up a bit and heading in their direction.

As they get closer, Hamid realizes they’re arguing, and sighs a bit. It’s over fishing, which is far from the only thing these two argue about, but it does seem to be one of the most common things.

“Grizzop, for the gods’ sake, I’m not saying -“

“No lures allowed in the competition, mate, you know -“

“Hello, you two!” Hamid calls from his perch upon Ed’s back. Ed dutifully bends down and drops him off, hanging about and looking at the other two amusedly. “Having fun so far?” 

“Maybe when Zolf admits I’m  _ right -“  _ Grizzop starts, but Zolf just sighs and ignores him. 

“Haven’t seen you in a while, Eddie,” Zolf says, reaching out and giving the other man a handshake. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh, proper good, me. Saw a good starfish the other day,” Ed says, perking up. “Shoulda taken a picture. Damn.”

“I believe you,” Zolf says, earnest and kind. “You find the best stuff on that beach.”

“Aw, cheers, mate,” Ed says, beaming, and slings his arm around Zolf’s shoulder.

“You want to join?” Zolf asks, holding out a fishing rod that Hamid doesn’t take. 

“No, I’m alright, but you two have fun?” He backs away a bit, making sure he’s not on the ice. 

“Alright. Eddie, how about you?” Zolf asks, but Ed shakes his head. 

“Nah, don’t like puttin’ the worms on. Weird texture.” he says, brow furrowing. Zolf nods, looking slightly disappointed, but doesn’t push either of them on the issue. He stows the fishing line back, but Grizzop doesn’t seem like he’s going to let it go that easily.

“It’s fishing, Hamid! Sure you don’t want in?” Grizzop calls, waggling his eyebrows, and Hamid pulls a face that could reasonably be interpreted as disgust. He’d had enough time to fish that one time they’d all gone out on the lake, and he hadn’t been a particularly big fan of it. Plus, he knows Zolf said that the lake is frozen over, but there seem to be enough people on the ice that he isn’t comfortable adding his own weight to it. The whole ‘drowned rat’ look isn’t good on him, and he absolutely doesn’t have any interest in falling through the ice even if it were. 

“No - I’m alright, really!” he says, and Grizzop shrugs before turning back to Zolf and starting up the argument again. 

He’ll just leave both of them to it, both too interested in proving the other wrong to pay much attention. Ed wanders off as well, making a beeline for someone Hamid faintly recognizes as one of the town librarians, Tjelvar, who greets him with a smile. Hamid, for his part, heads over to where Azu is standing, looking like the warmest person there. He’s lucky that all of his friends seem to be space heaters, especially when he definitively isn’t. 

“Azu!” he calls, genuinely glad to see her. She’d been back in Africa to visit her family for the past couple weeks, and he’d missed her dearly. He’s been so busy since she’s gotten back that they haven’t had time to have a proper homecoming party, although Zolf is planning on hosting one in the next week or so with Sasha. Hamid’s looking forward to it; with how crazy it's been, he’s not been able to spend as much time with his friends as he normally is. 

“Oh, Hamid!” Azu calls back, wrapping him up in a tight hug as he squeezes back. She gives the best hugs out of anyone he knows, except maybe Aziza, and even then it’s a close contest. “It’s so good to see you! How are you?”

Hamid pulls back and immediately misses the warmth, trying to cover up his instinctive shiver. “I’m doing wonderfully, thanks! The shop is busier than ever, but I’d rather have that than no customers at all. How about yourself? How was Africa?”

“Perfect,” Azu says, a fond smile pulling at her lips. “My family was so happy to see me, and I them. You’ll have to come round mine to see the photos sometime.”

Hamid nods vigorously. He’d seen a few that she posted while away, but he knows Azu, and he knows how many photos she takes of things. (One time, when they’d gone out on the boat, they’d had a veritable photo shoot, posing and laughing until Hamid pushed Zolf over the edge of the boat and was immediately pulled in by Zolf, landing almost on top of the other man in the water. Azu has all the photos from that, both flattering and… not.) He’s sure the photos will be gorgeous as well. Missing Cairo has become more of an intermittent, distant ache than the homesickness he’d felt at the onset of the year. 

“ _ Gods _ , it’s freezing,” he says, teeth chattering, and Azu steps behind him, pulling him back into her in a tight hug. Her heavy coat drapes around his shoulders as well, and the difference is almost immediate. The icy chill of the air is gone, blocked by the faux fur, and Hamid snuggles back into her as she hums. “This coat is  _ magical _ .”

“You like it?” Azu asks, sounding excited. “Sasha bought it for me for last year’s Feast celebration. It’s the warmest thing I own. Here,” Azu says, awkwardly shuffling away without letting Hamid slip out from her coat. “If we move a little more to the right - perfect!”

They’ve got a completely unblocked view of the ice fishing tourney, and Hamid only has to peek a little bit to the right to see Ed and Vesseek and Brock working hard on the ice sculptures. He can’t tell what the other two are making, but Ed looks like he’s creating a giant sun; Hamid can relate, and it looks wonderful so far. They’ll have to make their way over there once the ice fishing tourney finishes up. 

Mayor Gussett steps up to the ice with a competitive look in his eye, and blows an air horn as everyone scrambles to a hole in the ice, casting their line.

Hamid cheers along with Azu, for Zolf, and then for Sasha and Grizzop, and thinks for once in his life that he might not mind the cold, not when he has all this to enjoy around him.

—

_ 18 December _

Hamid gets another letter in the mail on 18 December, short and sweet and to the point. 

_ Happy holidays, Hamid! _

_ We hope you’ll join us on 25 December to celebrate The Feast of the Winter Star, in the town square, starting at 10. The entire town will be there to celebrate the holidays and ring in the New Year in our usual fashion.  _

_ As always, we’ll be hosting a secret gift giving this year, so make sure to bring yours! You’ll be giving a gift to:  _ ** _Grizzop. _ **

_ Cheers, and we’ll see you tomorrow! _

  * _Mayor Gussett and the Dunnock Town Auxillary Committee_

Well. Still not a  _ lot  _ of warning, but better than the customary one day notices he’s been getting, if any notice at all. And he has to find a gift in about a week as well… Not the easiest thing to do, especially when it seems to be the busiest time of the season for the shop. He and Zolf have been working around the clock to make sure all the customers are satisfied; it’s been a pretty stressful month so far, but now he’ll have to set aside time to find, well,  _ something _ . Maybe he can call Saira, see if she can help him order something, but the reception out here is spotty at best. 

He’ll probably need to talk to Vesseek as well; he and Grizzop get along well, and are friends, but Hamid’s always been notoriously bad at picking out gifts for people he doesn’t know incredibly well. And Vesseek is always a delight to talk to; they’re one of the only people who can keep up with Grizzop’s particular level of energy, and although Hamid hasn’t spent much time with them, they’ve always had interesting conversations when they do. 

Well. Not much time, best to get this out of the way as soon as possible. He tears off the name at the bottom of the letter and folds it up, slipping it into his pocket. He can definitely keep quiet about it for a week, how hard could it be? Hamid has faith in himself. 

The week goes by quickly. The shop is always crowded, customers are more of a nightmare than ever, and Hamid hasn’t even been able to think about the gifts he’s getting for his family. They normally don’t celebrate this particular holiday, but he still wants them to know he’s thinking of them around the holidays. The days and nights pass, spent working in the store and sitting by a fireplace and, before he knows it, it’s the day before the Feast, and Hamid needs some wrapping paper. 

So he finds himself walking along the main stretch with Zolf that afternoon, hunting down any and all wrapping paper they can get their hands on. Turns out Zolf’s left his wrapping for the last minute too, which Hamid would be teasing him about if he wasn’t  _ also _ here looking for last minute wrapping paper. 

The only problem is: the secret is eating at Hamid’s mind, and he  _ knows _ he can’t tell anyone, but he desperately wants to know who has him and he wants to tell  _ someone  _ else about who he has - apart from Grizzop, obviously, he isn’t going to ruin the surprise. And Zolf is  _ here _ , and Hamid trusts him, and Zolf can keep a secret! No one else even needs to know that he told, and maybe telling Zolf will tide him over for the 24 hours. 

“Whose name did you draw, Zolf?” Hamid asks, trying to be casual and knowing he absolutely failing as he bounces on his feet, feeling his own slip of paper burning a hole in his jacket pocket.

“It’s a secret, Hamid,” Zolf says, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets. “Couldn’t tell you if I wanted to.”

Hamid scurries in front of him, blocking his way down the lane. “Okay, so,” he bargains, and Zolf looks at him with an expression that’s a mix of fondness and confusion. “If I  _ guess _ who you have, will you tell me? I promise not to tell anyone else!”

Zolf thinks on it for a minute, hand coming up to stroke his beard. “Well, when you put it that way…  _ no,  _ Hamid.” 

“Zooooooolf,” he whines, dragging Zolf’s name out as he wraps his arms around Zolf’s shoulders from behind and lets the other man drag him down the street. “What if I  _ die  _ if I don’t tell someone. What if the secret literally eats me alive, and you’re the only one who can save me?” 

“Hamid,” Zolf laughs, unwrapping his arms from around his neck and physically picking Hamid up and dropping him in front of himself. “You’re being a bit overdramatic, I think. It’s only a day away, mate. Less than. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Zolf says, pulling Hamid’s hat off to ruffle his hair, and he scowls and fixes the curls, pulling his hat back over his head. He sticks his tongue out at Zolf, and Zolf just chuckles, nudging Hamid a bit with his shoulder as they head on down the street together. 

—

The feast is gorgeous. God knows why they have it outside, because it’s absolutely freezing out, but there are enough heat lamps and Hamid is bundled up enough to not really feel the cold. He’d been given a hot chocolate upon walking up, and it’s helping warm his hands as well. 

The tree in the middle of the town square is beautiful. It’s nearly twice the height of Hamid’s house, and there’s a glowing white star sitting on top of the tree, casting a shimmering light over the square. There’s already a pile of gifts sitting underneath it, so Hamid goes over and drops his own off, being very careful on the way. He ended up getting Grizzop a brand new stethoscope, recommended by Vesseek when he’d finally been able to ask them without fear of Grizzop overhearing. They’d said he’d been looking for one for a while, and Hamid had gone out and gotten one of the nicer ones on the market. He really hopes Grizzop likes it. 

“Hamid!” he hears, and turns to see Azu coming over only to wrap him in a tight hug. He squeezes back for all he’s worth before she lets go, stepping back. Sasha’s standing there too, and Hamid gives her a little wave that she returns with a nod. “Happy Feast! Did you bring your gift?” 

Hamid nods. “Stuck it under the tree a moment ago. When do we all reveal who we had?”

“After the feast,” Sasha answers. “You can go grab it and bring it to whoever you had. Secret’s usually out by that point anyway. We should actually go sit down, I think the festival is going to be starting soon.”

“Oh! Of course!” Hamid says, and follows her and Azu over to the nearest table. He ends up sat with Sasha on his left and Brock on his right. He can just see Feryn and Zolf sitting at a table across the way, and Azu is on Sasha’s other side. Mayor Gussett stands in the middle with a microphone, tapping gently on the top before clearing his throat and beaming at everyone.

“Good to see you all! Another successful year has passed in our town, as we’ve added some new faces and had to sadly say goodbye to some familiar ones,” he announces, as the audience finally quiets down. “But this is a time for cheer and revelry, not a time for misery. I hope everyone is able to enjoy themselves during the Feast, and that good tidings are brought to you all!”

The audience all cheers, Hamid included as he claps his hands as loudly as he can. Mayor Gussett laughs as well and holds up a hand until the crowd quiets down once more. 

“Now,” Mayor Gussett says, clapping his hands together with a glint in his eye. “Let’s eat!”

The feast is wonderful. He loads up his plates with foods of all different kinds and tucks in happily, savoring the different flavors. There are enough dishes to pass that Hamid is comfortably stuffed by the time the dessert even makes its way around the table to him. And of course he  _ has  _ some dessert; it looks delicious, and he isn’t about to pass it up, especially when the chances of it making its way back around to him are slim. 

He and Sasha chat a bit as the food makes the rounds; her and Azu will be holding a New Year’s Eve party, and Hamid needs to figure out what he’s bringing. They chat about other things as well; how the store is doing (very well), how Hamid’s enjoyed his first year in the town (he has, very much), if he likes the change in weather (not in the slightest) and similar things that aren’t really of any consequence. 

The sun moves forward in the sky and it starts to get dark; he sometimes forgets how early that starts now. He grabs his present after the feast has come to a bit of an informal end, glancing around left and right to see if he can see Grizzop anywhere. It’s a bit hard for him to see over the crowd, but eventually he spies Grizzop standing over near a couple of snowmen, and heads over to him. 

“Hamid,” Grizzop greets, eyeing the present in his hand. “This for me?”

“Happy Feast, Grizzop! I hope you enjoy it?” Hamid says, handing the box over. He’s quite proud of the wrapping, actually; a few years ago, he’d begged Aziza to teach him how to wrap gifts perfectly, and while they haven’t been perfect, he’s been able to do more than a passable job at it. 

Grizzop opens the present slowly, pulling off the lid and falling completely still when he sees the stethoscope inside. “ _ Gods,  _ Hamid, this - this is exactly what I needed. And it’s one of the best brands as well - how did you know?” 

Hamid shrugs. “Oh, you know. I had some help.” He discreetly shoots Vesseek a thumbs up just out of Grizzop’s sight, and catches them flashing a double thumbs up back out of the corner of his eye. “So, it’s alright then?”

“This is more than alright, this is - wow. Thanks, Hamid. I really appreciate it,” Grizzop says, and pulls Hamid into a tight hug that he happily reciprocates. “I’m gonna go show Vesseek, they’ve been telling me to get a new one for - oh, they told you about it, didn’t they?” 

Hamid shrugs. “I can neither confirm nor -“

“Definitely them, then,” Grizzop mumbles, and carefully picks up the stethoscope box. “Cheers, mate, and honestly - thanks. This is a wonderful gift. Happy Feast.”

“Happy Feast to you as well, Grizzop!” Hamid says, and watches and he scarpers away into the crowd, making a beeline for Vesseek. He smiles; he’s so glad Grizzop liked the gift, he’s been stressing about it for days now, but it seemed to really do the job. 

“All right, Hamid?” he hears, and turns to see a familiar face.

“Oh, hello, Zolf!” Hamid says as the other man walks up to him. “Are you enjoying the feast?”

Zolf nods, arms behind his back as he stands there a little awkwardly. “Yeah, the mayor really went all out this year. Happy Feast, by the way. And, er - this is for you,” he says, holding out a dark green bag a little larger than Hamid’s hands. 

“Oh my  _ gods,”  _ Hamid murmurs, taking the bag from Zolf. “Is this why you refused to talk to me about who’s name you had?”

“Well,  _ yeah,”  _ Zolf says, running a hand anxiously down his beard. “Didn’t want you to figure it out. I liked the idea of it being a surprise.”

“I can’t believe you had me, all this time -“ Hamid says, sitting down at a nearby table. The bag’s a little heavy for such a small thing; he hadn’t been expecting the weight when Zolf had given it to him. “Your poker face is terrifyingly good.”

“I’m not actually all that good at lying. Just ask Feryn, I never got away with anything when we were kids. Couldn’t keep a straight face,” Zolf explains. “Got better at just avoiding topics so I didn’t give myself away.”

“Well it  _ worked _ considering I had no idea it was you, my  _ goodness _ ,” Hamid says, pulling the paper off the top of the bag, and gasping as he sees what it’s been hiding.

It’s. It’s incredible. It’s a beautifully carved glass dragon, a mess of twisting colors twining through it so that it almost looks like it’s alive. The glass sparkles in the lights from the tree, and Hamid turns it around in his hands reverentially as he watches the colors play along the surface. 

“Zolf,” he breathes, unable to take his eyes off of it. “It’s  _ gorgeous _ .”

Zolf rubs the back of his neck. “So, you like it then?” 

“Don’t - like it? Zolf, I love it. It’s - how did you  _ do _ this, it’s amazing!” 

Zolf gestures to Feryn, standing on the other side of the tables and laughing with Brock. “Helps when your brother is a blacksmith. Feryn knows a lot about glassblowing, and he taught me when I was younger. Still needed his help for this, though,” he says, gently tapping the glass dolphin. 

“It’s - it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen,” Hamid says, and it’s not even an exaggeration. 

“Oh, come off it, Hamid, I’m sure you’ve seen better,” Zolf says, chuckling awkwardly. “But I’m glad you like it.”

Hamid sets the glass dragon back in the box carefully, setting it down on the table. And then he lunges at Zolf, wrapping the other man in a tight hug. Zolf catches him, and his arms are warm against Hamid’s back as he holds onto him. If Zolf won’t listen to him when Hamid tells him how impressive it is, he’ll have to make him believe it somehow.

“Thank you,” Hamid says, sincere. He tucks his head into the crook of Zolf’s neck, and Zolf holds him a little bit tighter. Zolf smells a little bit like the sea and a little bit like home, and as his chest warms, he blames the cider, even though his head isn’t spinning at all. “I can’t imagine getting anything else. It’s incredible, Zolf.”

“You’re welcome, Hamid.”

Hamid doesn’t let go for a while, and neither does Zolf. Eventually, he steps back, cheeks warm, and Zolf follows suit.

“Well, uh -“ Zolf says, coughing. “I’ve - Feryn needed some help, so I’m going to - yeah. Go help him. Happy Feast, Hamid. Uh. See you around, yeah?”

Hamid nods, not completely trusting himself to not say something completely stupid, and Zolf heads off. He watches Zolf make his way through the crowd, biting his lip as he holds the glass dragon close to his heart. 

This might be his favorite holiday yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so for halloween: you know billy porters look at the 2019 met gala? specifically the makeup? that’s what i want u to basically imagine hamid in. that makeup, but the outfit is silver and he doesn’t have wings bc in stardew valley you find out about things THE DAY BEFORE THEY HAPPEN anyway  
zolf never had a fucking *chance* bud

**Author's Note:**

> feryn smith for best wingman 2k19
> 
> timing wise this is definitely weird just roll w it i just wanted to do all of the festivals bc i’m weak for these two; tl;dr hamid moved into the shop in abt january-ish i just forgot to make in winter in part 1 it’s fine just go with it
> 
> [me voice] it’s about the *yearning*
> 
> also like. this is 100% me projecting the things i wish you could do in stardew onto zolf and hamid [sighs wistfully at leah] let me kiss my wife in the soft jellyfish light


End file.
